I want to grab each of you, shake you, slap you if necessary. You
have to snap out of it.

Maybe I should just give up. It’s so depressing so hopeless
sometimes. Maybe I should forget about everyone else and just
concentrate on myself. If you aren’t willing to help yourself then
why should I try?

I am shocked, amazed and dismayed at how some people can sabotage
their own well-being. I’m talking about debt and not just a small
amount of debt. I’m talking about the most stupid, outrageous debt
imaginable.

I’ve talked about the dumb and idiotic things people do, thinking
they’re being smart with money but proving they don’t have a clue.
One example, albeit in nicer, gentler terms, was
this post about people treating their homes
as if they were banks, as if they could continue borrowing against
it without consequence.

Then I come upon
this article (unfortunately paid registration required) in the
New York Times talking about a similar thing but this was much worse.

EDWARD BRIGGS had a good job, but better still, he had credit
cards. The job provided the solid middle-class life - a home in
Colchester, Conn., two cars in the driveway, food on the table. But
the credit cards underwrote dreams.

"In addition to the normal credit-card usage, I used the
balance-transfer option to pay for a couple of things here and
there, and got carried away with it," said Mr. Briggs, 56.

When the payments started to squeeze him, he realized his predicament
and tried to dig himself out. But he still owed about $70,000, he
said, when he lost his job three years ago. He found some work
consulting, but "I just didn't have enough money coming in to cover
everything," he said.

In July, with his credit-card debts approaching $90,000, he declared
bankruptcy.

Is that you? Is that someone you know? Get help now. If this is
your path, stop, pull over and get off. This is the path of
destruction, it is the road to poverty and despair but it is
completely in your control.

Also from the New York Times article this is the paragraph that lead
me to write this post.

A young couple from Cortlandt Manor, N.Y., told a woeful tale of
lost jobs, a lost home in Florida, a deeply troubled
12-year-old, and a kiting operation that kept all their credit-card
payments up to date. "I had to take money from the Optima card to
pay the bill on the MBNA," the wife said. "But I always paid."
With $258,685 on more than 60 cards, they finally filed for
bankruptcy. (emphasis added).

How do you let yourself get over a quarter of a million dollars in
debt on your credit card? How do you even keep track of 60 credit
cards?

If you decide to stop this insanity, your new road will not be easy
but it pales in comparison to the pain you’re in store for if you
continue toward failure. Debt of this magnitude, any debt that
can’t be paid off quickly and easily, will require sacrifice and
dedication to overcome. You are strong enough to do it but you have
to understand that first.

Giving up your current spending habits, living, not only within your
means, but far below your means in order to catch up, will lead to
withdrawal, just as powerful, intense and painful as any drug addict
will experience.

Where do you begin? How about here. The
Three Month Test is difficult but oh so necessary. It will prove
that no matter how bad things have gotten, they’re not hopeless. It
will prove that you are able to do more than you think, that you’re
able to live and enjoy life without using money as a fix, as an
escape. This test of your will, your sincerity, will plant your
feet firmly on the ground giving you a new beginning with all the
advantages you’ve currently squandered.

The next thing you need to do is educate yourself. Go to the library
and check out “Your Money or Your Life” by Joe Dominguez and Vicki
Robin. This will show you that there are far more important things
than money. When you finish that, read “The Millionaire Next Door”
by Thomas J. Stanley and William Danko. This will show you that you
can do more with less. That products are less important than
security and that you can achieve success by simplifying your life.

I’ve had posts in the past dealing
with credit cards and I know I’ll have more in the future but this
post is for you. Now is the time for you to get control of your
life. There are countless articles on the subject of credit, our
reliance on it and sometimes our collapse under it. In addition to
the New York Times article referenced above,
here’s a new one from money.com.

The Money.com article says ”Americans' love affair with credit
cards has continued unabated recently, with the average credit card
debt per household reaching a record $9312 in 2004. That's up a
whopping 116 percent over the past 10 years.”

As a nation our spending is increasing and our savings are decreasing
as we fight the inevitable outcome of ever more indulgence. And it's
not just individuals either. The government is doing the same thing
and
this article on Marketwatch.com should scare you into doing the
right thing.

Make this the year you reverse that trend. Take control of your
spending and therefore your life.